A Liberal
Dose
August 12,
2021
Troy D.
Smith
“What Do
You Hope to Accomplish?”
I’ve received a good bit of private feedback from readers
about my column in the six months or so I’ve been doing it. Though I am not
privy to any letters the newspaper receives on the subject, and suspect there
are some from people who don’t like what I may say, what I have personally
received has been overwhelmingly positive. A lot of it is from people who align
with me politically and are happy to see their perspective being presented. If
voting trends are any indication, that is anywhere from 20 to 30 percent of
people in White County, which is a minority but still represents several
thousand people. I have been surprised, though, at the number of positive
comments I have received from self-professed conservatives who are disturbed at
the direction the Republican Party has gone the past few years.
Recently I have been corresponding with an old, dear friend
of mine whom I respect very much and who takes exception to some of the things
I have written. We are able to discuss these areas of disagreement without
rancor or nastiness, with reasoned discourse. He frequently makes what I
concede to be good points. He asked me a couple of questions recently that I
thought deserved a response in this forum. I paraphrase:
“Why have you spent the last several columns denigrating the
opinions of people who disagree with you? What do you hope to accomplish -do
you really think you will change people’s minds by being so negative? Why don’t
you say what you are for rather than running down what you are against?”
Like I said, I think these are very good, and very valid,
questions. I generally try to earn the reputation of being fair, of trying to
bring opposite sides together, and of basing my arguments on evidence instead
of partisan rhetoric. It is a point of pride to me that in ten years of
teaching at TTU, and several thousand students, there have only been one or two
who hinted in their evaluations they thought I was “too liberal”, whereas there
have probably been over 100 comments in that time about how I try to present
things fairly.
Let me briefly outline what being liberal means to me. It
means I believe in the Constitution, and I believe in it as a living, growing
document. I believe in union, and in working to make that union “more perfect.”
I believe in the vision laid out by Thomas Paine, of a government that equally
protects individual freedom and the greater community good, with an equal seat
at the table for everyone regardless of race, gender, religion, class, region,
sexual orientation, or any other form of self-identification. I believe in a
union that promotes the general welfare and provides for the common defense.
That means no one gets left out, left behind, or suppressed. I believe in
everyone pulling together instead of every man for himself.
I do not believe traditional conservatism is antithetical to
that vision; I believe that the tension of left and right contributes to a
system of checks and balances that ensures both individual liberty and common
good are protected.
But I believe that, over the last twenty years and
especially the last five, the Republican Party establishment and many of its
voters have become something different. Note I said many, not all. But enough. What
I see now is a disregard for democracy, morality, compassion, and decency. I
see a cult built around a con artist who stokes the rage of people who are
frightened, goading them to un-American actions. I cannot present that as “both
sides are equal.” There is a time when you have to stand firm.
I may not win over people on the other side- but I might get
through to some of the people in the middle, and that could make all the
difference.
--Troy D.
Smith, a White County native, is a novelist and a history professor at
Tennessee Tech. His words do not necessarily represent TTU.
A complete list of Liberal Dose columns can be found HERE
A list of other historical essays that have appeared on this blog can be found HERE
Author's website: www.troyduanesmith.com
The author's historical lectures on youtube can be found HERE
No comments:
Post a Comment